Perspectives on Environmental

Costs to clean up environmentally impacted real estate have continued to increase. A variety of factors have caused this trend including: listing of new contaminants, enhanced focus on contamination pathways like vapor intrusion, and changed circumstance caused by infrastructure challenges from shifting weather patterns and greater population density all pose risks to parties fulfilling cleanup obligations.

ArentFox Schiff has been awarded 62 top rankings in the 2024 edition of Best Law Firms® which recognizes firms for professional excellence based on consistently positive ratings from clients and peers.

In the latest installment of WorldSmart, Hunter Carter is joined by Partner Malcolm McNeil and the CEO of FLOGEN Technologies, Dr. Florian Kongoli, to explore the intricate relationship between sustainability, technology, and the intersection of science, law, and medicine.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued its inaugural report highlighting recent activities related to the incorporation of environmental justice (EJ) principles into its enforcement efforts.

The US Supreme Court has announced it will evaluate whether “impact fees” associated with permits can violate the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution.

Mike Showalter will join a panel of speakers in a webinar hosted by Gradient that explores various topics on Environmental Justice updates.

Sometimes where to begin is the hardest part. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently released Toolkit is intended to help local and state governments start their environmental justice (EJ) journey through community engagement.

On September 28, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted a final rule that will require any entity that has manufactured or imported per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in any year since 2011 to report detailed information on PFAS usage.

While increased enforcement resulting from increased federal focus on environmental justice (EJ) issues poses risk to many businesses, how the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assesses and addresses EJ-related “cumulative risk” issues has the potential to create even more uncertainty.

“Joint and several” liability for environmental remediation costs is fundamental to the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

Louisiana has been at the center of the Biden Administration’s prioritization of environmental justice (EJ) issues.

More so than any other issue, environmental justice (EJ) remains a central pillar of the Biden Administration’s regulatory agenda. Below, we’ll answer three EJ-related questions that the regulated community may struggle with this fall.

One might not expect that a climate-change case filed by a group of children could succeed.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 130 attorneys have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2024, with an additional four attorneys highlighted as “Lawyers of the Year” and 69 attorneys listed as “Ones to Watch.”

The “Major Questions Doctrine” (MQD) has been the breakout star of the last two terms at the US Supreme Court.

The energy transition and increased public focus on environmental issues have strained the existing regulatory regime including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA directs agencies to conduct environmental assessments before taking “major federal actions.”

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we live and work. At its core, AI is the ability of machines to think and learn without encoded commands, mimicking our own cognition.

On July 21, 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a long-awaited final rule that will make it difficult for sources to continue to rely on an “emergency” to avoid liability for permit violations under Title V of the Clean Air Act.

Effective and meaningful public engagement are “foundational principles of Federal regulatory development” and the Biden Administration has sought to remove barriers to public participation in the regulatory process.

The Biden Administration is in the process of revising a cog fundamental to federal policymaking. The cog, a guidance document issued by the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) entitled Circular A-4, has the potential to dramatically alter the regulatory environment.

This US Supreme Court’s administrative and environmental decisions were somewhat predictable for much of the 2022-2023 term. And then they weren’t – the final weeks of the term especially featured some high-drama decisions.

Last week, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Biden Administration’s efforts to cancel $430 billion in student loan balances was legally unsupportable.

In the United States, environmental and public health measures often correlate to variables like education, income, and a community’s racial makeup.

Partner J. Michael Showalter was quoted on the US Supreme Court ruling in Haaland v. Brackeen, which upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Partner J. Michael Showalter spoke with the Associated Press about the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision not to test its Title VI authority in a recent case involving a predominantly Black community exposed to toxic chemicals in Louisiana.